Friday, March 15, 2013

I've always struggled trying to find pants that fit me well. This seems to be an ongoing struggle for me and I'm starting to think that no matter what weight I'm at, there isn't ever going to be the perfect pair of jeans that fit me like a glove. Until today....

Last week I got my Anthropologie catalog in the mail and fell in love with this adorable top.

I of course knew I had to have it and I made it my mission to go to Anthro on my next pay check and add it to my wardrobe. Today I went downtown, found my cute shirt and picked up a couple other things to try on, one of them being a pair of black J Brand jeans I knew I couldn't afford but wanted to try on anyways. Big mistake.

I say big mistake, because I put these suckers on and instantly did a frustrated dance in my fitting room because I was angry that they were $175 and that I had to have them, some how. The material is a perfect combination of jean material with the soft stretch of Spandex. They aren't jeggins, but arent jeans either. I have a pair of pants currently that are kind of like this from Lucky Brand but they are two sizes too big on me and they never fit me as well as these ones do.

I've never been to a clothing store and liked everything I tried on and unfortunately that happened to me today. I love that feeling, but it was very frustrating at the same time, because honestly who has that much money to spend on clothes? Because I sure don't.

Now I'm consumed with thoughts on what I have to do to get $175 so I can go buy those. Part of me doesn't care because I know Id wear the crap out of them, and then the frugal side of me is embarrassed at the idea of spending that much money on pants. Compared to some other things I have to spend money on, it doesn't seem that bad.

What are some of your favorite jean/pant brands that you have found that you love? If they are expensive, do you think they are worth the buy? If they are inexpensive, do you compromise fit for budget?

I did also happen to pick up this shirt, but I'm not sure if I like how it fits me now that I don't have my amazing J Brand jeans on. :(

Saturday, March 9, 2013

1. I made some revisions to the blog design and hope you like the edit. What do you guys think?

2. Tomorrow we are headed down to Salem for Nathans Grandmothers 81st birthday. We are hoping to get her drunk on some Baileys and watch her eat lots of pie. I mean, I think that's what any 81 year old would love on their birthday, right?

3. Tonight I decided to wash our sheets and Nathan was too tired to get out of bed, so he just rolled around on the bed so I could get them off. This was him during his fake 5 year old tantrum. Love you babe.

4. I had a girls day today with my sister in law and another friend. While we were at Joanns fabric, I discovered chocolate covered Peeps. They were delicious!

5. Monday I should be getting my March Birchbox and I will do a post to share with you what I get inside!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The last few months I've been feeling like there is a new chapter of my life starting, but it seems a little unclear what its going to be about. The previous chapters were a little clearer like graduating from High School, then graduating from college, then getting married. This last chapter that I feel like I'm currently coming out of is one of recovery. Over the last two years I've been healing from a very hard a traumatic experience and I finally I have the strength to move on. I used my traumatic experience to hide and be a hermit for a few years and now that I'm at the tail end of healing from it I have this tug on my heart to start over and be someone new. Something is changing inside of me but I'm not sure what it is. I feel myself searching for that thing. Nathan and I have been married for three and a half years now and for other couples that might be the time for them to start having kids, but not for us. I feel like I need to figure out that thing first, what I'm doing and where I'm going, what my niche is and how I can live off of it.

Senior year of High School in 2004.

Presenting my Thesis the weekend of my college Graduation in 2008.

The day I married my best friend in 2009.

I went to school for Interior Design and for years I thought a career in the design industry was my thing. After that not panning out as I planned, I felt so lost. I questioned and still seem to question if that's what I want to keep working towards or if I need to go in a different direction. Then when I start thinking about what the next direction might be I feel like I'm looking into a big black hole of emptiness. I need something to shine a light, give me inspiration, hope, courage to face the darkness and take some steps of faith.

So far I've come up with these possibilities:

1. Find a job with a design firm which thus far has been impossible.

2. Do design work on my own, which also seems equally impossible.

3. Find a desk job that is mindless but pays well and push for creativity outside of work.

4. Figure out how to make money being crafty.

4 cont. Figure out how to make more money being crafty.

5. Figure out how to get Nathan to be rich so I can be a housewife.

6. Win the lottery.

So...I think you can understand why I feel frustrated and lost. Agreed? I mean, Id prefer to win the lottery over anything on that list but ultimately that wouldn't satisfy my desire to live through my passions. I don't think being rich can really qualify as a passion. Maybe for some, but then you'd be an annoying self centered rich person who probably screws over lots of people. Which is totally lame and I don't want to be lame.

I think what is most frustrating for me is that I have skills, good ones, but yet I feel like I cant use them the way I want to because it takes other people to believe in my skills and give me a chance. I feel like sometimes my challenging road searching for design work is getting clouded by how hard its been and making it a less desirable career. Why would I want to keep trying for something that's continually turned me down? Its like a bad relationship that I keep going back to. That said, not everything in life comes easy.

When something really challenges you in life I think it pushes you to look deeper and try harder which is just eventually going to get you to your real goal. That's exactly what I'm searching for, a real goal and something that is sustaining and fulfilling. When I say those words my mind becomes blank again, because I don't know what that is or how to find it.

Thus far, I've concluded that I need to find my thing, being rich doesn't qualify as a passion, I don't want to be lame, challenging life experiences help you grow and I need to find a goal that is sustainable and fulfilling. And winning the lottery is probably not realistic. Darn...

So, here continues my quest. I'm searching and looking for that sign to lead my in the right direction or that little glimmer of light to show me the way in what seems like a mass of darkness. I think its times like these that really stretch us as people and we discover we are capable of a lot more than we thought. At least that's what I'm hoping for. :)

Also, please don't forget to vote for which Saw It, Pinned It, Tried It you want to see next on the blog. If you missed that, check out this post here and cast your vote on the poll on the upper left corner of the blog.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I haven't done a Saw It, Pinned It, Tried It post for a few weeks now and I thought Id get you all involved. Below are three options I've found on Pintrest and I want you to vote on which one you would most like to see me try out. At the bottom of the post is a poll of the options, please make your selection.**Added to the top left of my blog**

Sharpie+Mug+350 Degrees

I've seen a couple pins talking about "how easy" this is but I've also read some reviews that it doesn't work as well as they say. Apparently this pin has all the secrets and I'm curious if its the tried and true way.

Coloring Eggs with Shaving Cream

We are getting close to Easter time and one of my favorite Easter things was to decorate eggs. I think you could get really creative with the colors and swirls because of the cream. My only thought is, it looks quite messy.

Ice Cream in a Bag

This is the classic thing to do as a kid, but I can tell you I've honestly never done it before. I'm big on ice cream and I think it would be interesting to try and maybe get a good arm work out too?

Tub and Shower Magic

I think we all know Im a sucker for cleaning and trying these weird pins on cleaning. I think this could be a great product, or a terrible one just like my oven cleaning incident. Remember that one? If not, click here.

You have until Thursday at midnight to cast your vote and the winning Pin will be featured.

Monday, March 4, 2013

In my post yesterday I mentioned I was going to do a post about some of my personal favorite products that I use. I was going to do a video, but I decided to do a good old fashioned post because I thought you'd get the best provision of information this way.

I really like trying new products, which is why I love the Birchbox so much, but I also have my products that I hands down love. Most of these are products that I stumbled upon myself and have used for years.

Olay Wet Cleansing Cloths - Sensitive

I've used these cleansing cloths for at least a year and I really love them for those nights that I'm too lazy to break out the face wash. They are great makeup removers and unlike some of the other cloths I've used, they don't dry out your skin. There are some lightweight moisturizers and Vitamin E formulated into the cloth, but I usually splash my face with a little water after using so I can apply my normal face moisturizer.

Aveda Pure Abundance Style Prep

If you have fine hair stop everything you are doing this very second and go buy this product. I'm serious! I was informed of this product when I got my hair cut last December by a friend going to the Aveda hair school. I have very fine hair and I struggle with volume products because they can sometimes leave too much coarse texture in my hair which makes it hard to style. This product is one of the best volume products I have used thus far. Its a liquid spray verses a cream and you spray it all over your hair. I try to concentrate the spray around my roots. I then blow dry my hair and I not only have volume but its shiny and smooth as well. This volume is also an all day keeper. The volume I have after blow drying my hair is what Ill have until I wash it. If you have fine hair then you definitely need to try this one!

Mr. Pumice

I discovered this product when I was in college, probably about 7 years ago. In those 7 years I've honestly only had to purchase a total of two of these because they last so long. I'm pretty anal about my feet and dry skin on my feet is one of the worst things in the world to me. I probably use this once a week in the shower and I just scrub my heels and it leaves them soft and smooth by removing any dry skin. If you suffer from dry heels this product will be a life changer. You can find it at a Sally's Beauty Supply or probably your local Walgreen's Any other pumice stone is a waste of time and money and wont work nearly as good as Mr. Pumice.

MAC "Chilled On Ice" Painters Pot

I've had this Mac Painters Pot now for about two years and I have yet to even use half of it. This product is great for more of a nude look or if you don't want to wear a lot of makeup but want a little something on. It leaves a light shimmer on your eyes and you can wear it alone, or layer other eye shadows. It just adds a little more subtle sparkle and works as a great primer to hold your shadows in place.

OPI Nail Polish

Left to right: Big Apple Red, My Chihuahua Bites, Hot & Spicy

If you are obsessed with nail polish like I am, you will probably favor OPI over most other nail polish brands out there. I think they have one of the best textures, most chip resistant, best wear and a great selection of colors. Above are a couple of my favorite colors. I'm not huge into sparkles or funky colors but they have a great range of warmer light to dark tones. I've found the best selection on colors at an ULTA beauty supply.

I think I need to explain the verbiage I use to describe my house because its confusing to most, even us sometimes. We live in a one bedroom apartment that is set up like any other house but we decided to move things around a little. We moved our bed to the living room to give us more space and also because Nathan was falling asleep on our old futon every night watching TV. We turned what is technically our bedroom into a sitting/dining/sewing room so I could have a space to sprawl out and be creative without messing up the area we are in the most, and also so Nathan could stay up late watching TV but while in bed. When we moved our house around like this I didn't know what to call the bedroom or living room anymore, so it became the front room and the back room. The backroom was originally the bedroom and the front room was originally the living room. So this is what Ill be calling our spaces from now on. Get it?

This was my inspiration compilation for the room and I think once we get some pictures hung and add a few more accessories it will feel more complete. The lights I mounted today have probably been one of my favorite additions so far. They are from IKEA and were only $20 each. IKEA has seriously exceeded my expectations on price, style and ease of install.

Today I finished painting the front room and it looks so awesome! The room is still coming together because we need something on the windows and need to hang pictures as well. We have one big wall that is completely blank right now and I'm thinking I will do a mural of pictures, big and small. We have a plethora of professional pictures we had taken for our engagement/wedding as well as pictures we had taken for our first anniversary. We seriously only have 3 pictures hanging out of probably 1000. I think that will be my next project, making my wall mural of pictures. Ill probably include some of Nathans Grandmothers art and pictures of us as kids as well.

Right now I'm thinking we need to go to white sheets because I think the orange ones are a little much with the new paint. Anyone agree with me on that?

Tomorrow I'm going to do another video of a couple of my favorite beauty products. Keep an eye out on my Facebook page for the update or subscribe to my blog to get an email when I update.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

I am finally getting started on painting our bedroom and only two walls in and my arms and hands are already killing me. I kind of like the monotonous repetition and it allows me to just get lost in my thoughts and listen to music nice and LOUD! Im sure after I do the bathroom and our living room (thinking about the hallway to the bathroom also), I will probably not want to see a roller brush for a long time. I tend to be someone who gets bored with a space quickly so I move furniture around and paint is a fairly easy change to do but makes a big impact. Nathan is the opposite of me though. He hates painting and has yet to even pick up a paint can this round, which Im totally ok with. When we move out of this place though and we have to paint the walls back he better be prepared to help! Although Id totally be willing to strike a deal. If he moves all the furniture, then Id paint. ;)

Ive been working on prepping around the trim and last night I finally got into rolling. Ive so far only done two walls but Im loving it! The color I chose is called Tinsmith from Sherwin Williams, its a nice light cool toned grey. In our light its reading pretty blue but I didnt want a grey with any warmth in it. I think cool greys have this great calming/open feeling and I also just hate beige. Bleh. I also need to mention that good quality paint makes all the difference. I used Sherwins "Cashmere" paint which is supposed to spread very well and give you good coverage. Last time I painted I just used the bottom of the barrel paint because it was cheap, but that stuff was so thick and had terrible coverage. Im not working nearly as hard this time getting the paint to spread with the roller.

Previously we had this sage/grey/green in there and it just felt like the odd ball out once we got our furniture. This grey feels so fresh and bright and its made everything in the room pop. Im not sure if Ill have to do a second coat but I probably will just for safe measures. I dont want any of that green to come out.

This weekend we are hoping to mount our TV, hang some new bedside wall lamps and finish up the painting. Once we are done Ill post some pics!

Heres what everything looked like last night. Do you like it?

Our house is so messy right now that I just kinda dont care until its done.

Stuff like this just kinda adds to the visual mess but its got to get done right!

Prepping around molding and corners can be a bitch but last time I painted I got paint all over the white trim and had to go back and touch everything up.

My painting socks. I looked to terrible to post the rest of my painting clothes. hah!

Evening light.

Morning light.

Happy Saturday everyone! Im off to my real job so I can afford to keep painting. :)